In 2025, fire departments serving Churchill responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $122K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
229 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $122K cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 65 | +22.6% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -32.3% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -15.9% | |
| 2025 | 30 | -18.9% |
For the 13 building fires Churchill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Chute; laundry or mail, excluding trash chutes | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 1 | 16.7% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Churchill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Churchill departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $122,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Churchill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,815 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 40.5 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Churchill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.